Events

Porches on the Hill will be alive with music on July 21

By Louise Sproule

July 16, 2018

The anticipation for Vankleek Hill Porchfest 2018 has been building for months and this Saturday, July 21, musicians and music-lovers will be in town for the event!

In only its fourth year, Porchfest has become almost an institution in Vankleek Hill, with local businesses and porch hosts getting into the spirit of promoting the event. This has led to more interest in the event than ever before, much of it coming from out of town.

“There has been so much activity on our Facebook page and so many people interested – particularly from out of town – it’s almost hard to keep up,” says Porchfest founder and event organizer Ken Duff.

“It’s amazing how the community has rallied behind the event. All the merchants on Main Street are excited, people with porches are excited… the whole town is really looking forward to Porchfest this year and it is really interesting to hear all of the reasons why people are coming.”

This year’s event will feature 32 bands and individual performers spread out over 29 porches throughout Vankleek Hill. Performance times and a map of the event can be found in the July 18 edition of The Review. Maps and schedules are also available at number of local businesses throughout Vankleek Hill.

Duff notes the event has grown significantly since the first year, both in the number of performers and porches on which they can play:

“We are so thrilled to see Porchfest grow so much again this year. All of the porch hosts and performers are donating their time and spaces for free. And every year we get more and more people offering their porches and/or their talents. They just want to be part of such a fun event.”

Putting on an event like Porchfest takes a significant amount of time and funds and as expected, in Vankleek Hill the community has rallied behind the event. Low’s Realty has once again stepped forward as the major sponsor of Porchfest and there are also a number of other sponsors who have donated to the event. A committee was formed for the event this year and many other people from the community will be giving their time on Saturday to provide information, give out maps and directions etc.

“We highlight the performances and the porches, but the fact that it is a community event is what makes Porchfest so great,” Duff says proudly, adding, “We’ve always had tremendous support from the porch hosts, but this year has been exceptional. The local businesses and the porch hosts are basically doing the job of promoting the event for us.”